Tennessee Shakespeare Company (TSC), the Mid-South's professional classical theatre, launches its new schools touring show this week with the Memphis-inspired Shake(s), Rattle & Roll.

Created by TSC Education Director Stephanie Shine and featuring actors Slade Kyle and Cara McHugh, Shake(s), Rattle & Roll is booking now in elementary, middle, and high schools throughout the Mid-South. Last year, the tour played to 6,000 students in the South. This year's tour will exceed that capacity while touring across the state and into North Carolina, Georgia, and Kentucky.

Shake(s), Rattle & Roll is a 45-minute, tour-de-force that imagines both a social and artistic through-line between the plays of William Shakespeare and the music that makes Memphis unique – Blues, Gospel, Soul, Rhythm and Blues, and Rock-n-Roll.

"Shake(s), Rattle, and Roll allows Tennessee Shakespeare Company the opportunity to introduce students to two forces of change in our shared human experience: the plays of William Shakespeare and Memphis music from the 50's and 60's," says Shine.

"It's a joy to find the common links between these major artistic achievements while giving our young people an insight into what classical theatre can offer them. It's also wonderful to highlight many of the reasons we have to be proud of Memphis, the state of Tennessee, and the Mid-South."

Schools may book the show with actor-talkback now through May 9, 2014, for their student groups of up to 100 for just $450. Call TSC's Education Office at (901) 759-0620 to book your school or class. Teachers and chaperones are admitted free. Travel costs may vary.

Who's Who

Catie Broadwater (Stage Manager) returns for her second season with Tennessee Shakespeare Company. Her TSC credits include Unto the Breach, It's a Wonderful Life: a Live Radio Play, Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged), Macbeth, Southern Yuletide, the schools tour of Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, and The Glass Menagerie. Catie comes from Nashville, where she works as a Stage Manager. Most recently, she was a stage management assistant for the pre-Broadway production of The Nutty Professor directed by Jerry Lewis. A few of her theatre credits include Studio Tenn's The Glass Menagerie; Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre's Sherlock Holmes and It's a Wonderful Wife; 3Ps Production's John & Jen and Long Way Down, Parallel Lives, Oklahoma, Ramona Quimby, Baby, Spirit: The Authentic Story of the Bell Witch of Tennessee; and Nashville Shakespeare Festival's The Tempest. She is a graduate from MTSU, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Theatre.

Bruce Bui (Costume Designer) designed TSC's Unto the Breach!, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Julius Caesar, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), It's a Wonderful Life: a Live Radio Play, Rebel Shakespeare and His Women, and Shakespeare's Greatest Hits. Originally from Southern California, Bruce now lives in Memphis and is going into his twelfth season as the Wardrobe Director and Resident Costume Designer for Ballet Memphis. His works can be seen regularly on the Orpheum stage and numerous other venues around the Mid-South, and have been praised as "dazzling" by Critical Dance Magazine, and a "Master of Chiffon" by The Commercial Appeal. He has also worked with The Western Stage (Always, Patsy Cline), Cabrillo Musical Theatre (Funny Girl), Santa Susanna Repertory Theatre (Shiloh, War of the World), and Kingsmen Shakespeare Company (As You Like It), among others. Some of his specialty garments can be seen on Mrs. Tennessee for Mrs. America 2005, At Home Tennessee Magazine's featured wedding issue 2007, and The Memphis Mystic Krew 2005 court. Bruce also has worked on several commercials in the Mid-South.

Cara McHugh (Actor, Journeyman Artist-Manager) is originally from Memphis and received her BA from Murray State University with a dual major in Theatre and Political Science. Cara received her MFA in the Performance program at the University of Louisville, where she graduated recently with a Dean's Citation in Academic Excellence. Cara performed in UofL's Sleep Rock thy Brain, The Artifacts, Richard III, Plays: A Play, A Perfect Wedding, and How I Learned to Drive. She also performed in Reasons to Be Pretty and Misses Strata at the Bard's Town Theatre in Louisville, where she served as a Board member. While in Louisville, Cara taught children's theatre for Encore Youth Theatre and Adelante Hispanic Achievers.

Stephanie Shine+ (Director, Education Director, General Manager) TSC directorial work includes It's a Wonderful Life: a Live Radio Play, Shakespeare's Greatest Hits, Southern Yuletide, Romeo and Juliet, and The Rebel Shakespeare and His Women. During her 18 years with Seattle Shakespeare Company, 13 as Artistic Director, she directed 17 productions, including The Threepenny Opera, Cyrano de Bergerac, and the lauded all-male Taming of the Shrew. A well-known actress in the Northwest, Stephanie has performed for Seattle Repertory Theatre, Seattle Shakespeare Company, ACT, The Empty Space, Seattle Children's Theatre, Book-It Repertory Theatre, and Tacoma Actors Guild. Regionally, she appeared with the Oregon and New Jersey Shakespeare Festivals, Houston's Alley Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, and NYC's Theatre for a New Audience. Her Shakespeare roles include Juliet, Rosalind, Lady Macbeth, Beatrice, Regan, Feste, Kate, Bianca, Dionyza, The Princess of France, Hero, Perdita, and The Chorus in Henry V. + Member of The Society of Directors and Choreographers, Inc., an independent national labor union.